Last year, Amazon struck further fear into the hearts of high-street booksellers by opening its first brick and mortar store in Seattle.
Following the launch of that outlet, the company reportedly had plans to expand by opening 300 to 400 further stores in major cities.
Now, according to a Financial Times report (via Mashable) on Friday, Amazon will launch a new physical bookstore in Chicago, on top of previously mentioned locations in San Diego and Portland.
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The online giant has previously vowed that prices at its physical location would not vary from its highly discounted online prices.
And while there’s no news on how the new shop will look, the company’s store in Seattle was designed to display books that received high ratings on the Amazon site.
And since the new stores will be in the US, customers should also be able to sample the company’s Alexa-powered smart speaker, the Amazon Echo.
The news, earlier this year, that Amazon was planning to open 300 to 400 new stores in major cities came via Sandeep Mathrani, the CEO of US mall operator General Growth Properties Inc, who apparently let Amazon’s plans slip while speaking with investors.
Remaining bookstore chains will likely be dismayed at the news that Amazon’s physical store expansion is soon to begin, as they’ve already struggled to maintain profitability in the face of Amazon’s online popularity.
Could London be on that list of major cities? We’ll have to wait to find out.
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Would you like to see a physical Amazon store in the UK? Let us know in the comments.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.